In the early morning of the next day, the warm winter sunlight poured into the room. Yu Yan frowned against the dazzling light, softly groaning and buried his head in the dark shadow figure beside him. Even lightly rubbing against.

It was unsure how long it had been until Yu Yan finally opened his eyes.

In a daze, he rubbed and raised his head. His bewildered gaze that fell on Mu Yungui's body gradually cleared.

Mu Yungui laid to the side of him.

Even while sleeping, this person was very restrained. His hands were to his side, his posture stiff. Those beautiful eyes were calmly closed, the eyelashes were thick and thin. Every strand was distinct.

Yu Yan rarely saw such a Mu Yungui.

Just that... wasn't this too close?

Yu Yan shifted his gaze downwards, and finally saw the posture of them two.

His arms were entangled with Mu Yungui's body, his body was almost completely plastered onto him. One leg was even placed between the other's legs.

What's worse was that he only wore a bathrobe before going to bed last night. The belt was loosened early on at night and hung loosely on his shoulders.

——It was no different from not wearing it.

Yu Yan: "..."

Mu Yungui's sleeping posture had hardly changed from last night. How the robe came to be like that, it was self-evident who caused it.

The tips of Yu Yan's ears turned a sorrowful red.

He raised his leg bit by bit, and was about to take it back quietly when he suddenly heard a low voice. "Did Master sleep well last night?"

Yu Yan was so frightened by him that his upper thigh touched Mu Yungui.

The expressions on the two people changed.

Yu Yan stiffened. His teeth clenched, making himself ignore the hot, hard tactile feeling that clung to the skin.

Although he knew it was a normal reaction, but...but...but that was too exaggerated, right? !

What did this man eat to grow?

The atmosphere became awkward.

In the end, Mu Yungui still had a stronger psychological quality and broke the silence. "It's time to get up if Master wants to head to the manor outside the city today."

"Uh...oh." Yu Yan responded in a low voice, released his hand, and pulled himself away from Mu Yungui's arms.

The bed next to him sank. Mu Yungui stood from the couch.

Mu Yungui had his back to Yu Yan and dressed neatly before turning around.

Yu Yan buried his head in the quilt, showing only a little pink ear.

Now he knew how to be shy.

Mu Yungui's lips curved.

He didn't know if Yu Yan wanted him to rest or to deliberately torture him. Throughout the whole night, this person kept changing his pattern and stuck into his arms, never getting a restful sleep.

The ruckus caused Mu Yungui to have a sleepless night.

If he could sleep well, then it would have been strange.

Mu Yungui fetched Yu Yan's clothes. Seeing that the latter was still curled up on the bed and refusing to move, he asked in a low voice: "Does Master want this subordinate to assist in dressing?"

"No, no need. I'll do it myself!" Yu Yan's voice came from within the quilt.

Mu Yungui smiled helplessly, said "Understood", then left.

.

After having breakfast, the carriage carrying the two of them rode out of the city gate.

After that heavy snowfall last night, the temperature dropped a lot today. The cold wind penetrated through the cracks in the carriage's windows, and the brazier in the car wasn't working.

Yu Yan was blown by the wind until he shivered, the ink-colored fox pelt wrapped tightly around him.

Mu Yungui quickly closed the window.

Yet Yu Yan's complexion still didn't get better. He started to shudder.

Mu Yungui frowned. "Is Master's body unwell?"

Yu Yan leaned on the seat, pressed his eyebrows, and waved his hand weakly. "It's nothing."

Since getting up today, he started to feel a little unwell, his body was not as energetic as before. Furthermore, he couldn't stomach any food. Originally thinking it was due to insufficient sleep, who knew after he left the gates, it got even worse.

Mu Yungui anxiously asked, "Why don't you head to the manor another day. Master should first go back to the palace and rest."

"No." Yu Yan shook his head. "I just want to confirm it personally. It won't take long."

"But..."

Mu Yungui wanted to continue on but he hesitated.

Yu Yan has never changed his decision.

The charcoal fire in the car was burned to its fullest, but it seemed that the warmth was not transmitted over to Yu Yan. Half of his face was buried in the fox pelt's fur, looking even more pale.

Mu Yungui sighed silently. He got up and sat beside Yu Yan, bringing that cold body into his arms.

Yu Yan froze.

Mu Yungui rarely took the initiative to get close to him like this.

"This subordinate is rude, but this way... Master will feel better." Mu Yungui placed one arm around him, and the other reached into the fox pelt, gripping Yu Yan's cold hands.

Perhaps because of martial arts practice he did all year round, Mu Yungui's hands were very warm. Yu Yan's hands were carefully warmed by him in those palms, soon, no longer trembling.

"Are you cold?" Yu Yan asked in a low voice.

Mu Yungui: "Not cold."

Yu Yan "en"-ed and said nothing else.

This little shadow guard was so useful. Even when cold, could be used as a stove to keep warm.

Yu Yan leaned his head on Mu Yungui's chest. For a while, he couldn't think of anything that his own shadow guard could not do.

Oh. Except for having a baby.

But if this highness wanted to be the emperor in the future, there must be someone to inherit the throne. It was necessary to have children.

......A pity.

Yu Yan's mind was in chaos, and before he understood why he felt regret for, he sank into a deep sleep.

The manor was not far from the imperial city, and it took one hour after exiting the city.

The carriage stopped outside the manor's gate. Several guards greeted and were about to help Yu Yan out when they saw Mu Yungui embracing the highness and jumping out of the carriage.

His Highness the second prince, the pure and nobleman, the gentle and unattainable person, now leaned quietly in the arms of the shadow guard, looking unexpectedly well-behaved.

Guards: "......"

The guards looked over curiously but were given a cold look by Mu Yungui. They quickly lowered their heads.

Mu Yungui embraced Yu Yan and walked focused into the manor.

This manor was used to escape the summer heat. The winter scenery was pretty, but it was colder than in the city, hence Yu Yan rarely visited in winter. However, Mu Yungui had just arrived yesterday and had given instructions in advance, so everything was ready.

Mu Yungui carried Yu Yan into the house, and lowered the person onto the warm couch, ordering the servants to make a bowl of ginger soup.

Yu Yan had fallen asleep.

Mu Yungui felt his forehead. It was slightly warm, not too hot.

Yu Yan was not one to get sick often. His surrounding environment prevented him from showing any weaknesses, even if it was just a small wind chill. But he was an omega after all. Now that his body was badly affected by the suppressant incense, his physique was no longer like before.

Mu Yungui lowered his eyes and silently hugged the person tighter.

But Yu Yan wasn't able to sleep deeply. He woke up before the ginger soup arrived.

"So we're here..." Yu Yan yawned. "Where are the people you caught?"

Mu Yungui: "Currently locked in a side room. Master..."

Yu Yan interrupted him, "Bring him up. I'll personally interrogate."

Mu Yungui was silent for a moment but did not dare to refute. "... Understood."

He immediately instructed another person. Coincidentally, the ginger soup was delivered. Mu Yungui picked up the ginger soup and walked to the bed. "Master might have caught a slight chill. Drink some ginger soup to warm the body."

"... Alright." Yu Yan didn't dare to joke around with his body, so he obediently took it.

But after two sips, he didn't want to drink further.

Yu Yan basically didn't had breakfast. Now, there was a little discomfort in his abdomen after sipping two spoons of ginger soup.

He frowned, but before he could say anything, footsteps were suddenly heard outside the door.

"Your Highness, not good!" A hurried voice sounded from outside the door. "The person who is locked in the side room... that person is..."

Yu Yan's heart suddenly sank.

The side room where the assassin was detained was guarded heavily by soldiers. According to the guards, there was nothing unusual in the house all night. Even when the guards went in to deliver breakfast this morning, the person was still alive.

But only four hours had passed, and the man was assassinated in the room.

"A poisonous needle, commonly used in Jiang Du. A pierce killed him." Mu Yungui finished examining the body, walked up to Yu Yan and knelt on one knee. "This subordinate can't do things well."

Yu Yan waved his hand. "What has this got to do with you."

It was inconvenient for Mu Yungui to take the person back to the imperial city. Hence, before he left, Yu Yan made an arrangement with him to lock the person in this manor once caught.

Furthermore, the guards inside and outside this manor were all personally selected and dispatched by Yu Yan.

How could it be Mu Yungui's fault?

Yu Yan fiddled with a blood-stained token, and softly said, "This is indeed eldest imperial brother's horse-mounted token."

Mu Yungui: "Might the eldest prince worry that we will find evidence and hence silence the person?"

"Perhaps." Yu Yan sighed and threw the token on the corpse. "Clean up this mess. This matter ends here."

Mu Yungui was puzzled. "Why?"

"Because it's useless to find out." Yu Yan said, "If this person is alive, we can still use him. But now... Even if it turns out that this person is really related to eldest imperial brother, do you think based on a single corpse body, Emperor father will condemn eldest imperial brother?"

Other than Yu Hong, the Yan Emperor valued the eldest prince Yu Shu the most.

The braziers were not lit in the side room. Yu Yan simply sat for a while and felt a little cold once more. He wrapped his robe about himself and stood up. "Go back to the palace first. It's too cold today."

He walked forward. Suddenly, his legs became soft. Thankfully Mu Yungui supported him in time.

Yu Yan grabbed Mu Yungui's arm and stood up with difficulty. He smiled and shook his head. "I used to not be afraid of the cold or getting sick. Yet now..."

His voice stopped abruptly.

Fear of cold. Fever. Loss of appetite. Abdominal discomfort.

Why do these symptoms sound familiar?

Since leaving the brothel last time, Yu Yan had been mindful of what Qing Yue said. But he was inexperienced, and he had no face to ask someone else, so he could only secretly search the tales common folk wrote about alphas.

In those stories, once the little omega showed these kinds of symptoms, that meant....

Yu Yan looked down at his abdomen. His face turned a little pale.

No. It couldn't be.